With the count underway, here is round-up from BBC Monitoring of the latest election reports from the Kenyan media:

First election result

Excerpt from report by Kenyan radio on 30th December

The first result of the day. Former Kangema [Muranga District, Central Province] MP Mr John [Njoroge] Michuki of Ford-People [Forum for restoration of Democracy-People] today recaptured his seat after garnering 17,707 votes against his sole rival, Mr Naftali Njeru of KANU [Kenya African National Union, ruling party], who polled 4,308 votes.

Announcing the results at Mugoro Secondary School, the returning officer, Mr Nicholas Kimondo, said out of the 29,184 registered voters in the constituency 22,363 were cast for the parliamentary seat. He said that this was 77 per cent of the total registered votes...

Source: KBC radio, Nairobi, in English 1337 gmt 30 Dec 97

Moi accuses Electoral Commission of trying to rig the elections

Text of report by Kenyan radio on 30th December

The KANU [Kenya African National Union, ruling party] national chairman, President Daniel arap Moi, today said he was extremely unhappy with the Electoral Commission, because of its obvious scheme to rig the ongoing general elections in favour of the opposition.

President Moi

President Moi said it was absurd that since the start of the voting yesterday, the Electoral Commission had targeted KANU's traditional strongholds in the Rift Valley, parts of Western and Eastern Provinces and made sure that returning and presiding officers reported to polling stations as late as 1500 [local time] to deny voters sufficient time.

The president noted that in all these areas the Electoral Commission made sure that there was a shortage of ballot papers. As an example, President Moi said in Sotik [Rift Valley Province] 2,000 people and another 10,000 in Funyula [western Kenya] constituency could not cast their votes for lack of presidential ballot papers.

President Moi said the same problem was witnessed in most parts of Kericho, Bomet, Kajiado and Samburu District as well as some parts of Baringo and Koibatek Districts [all in western Kenya].

President Moi recalled that when he presented his nomination papers to the commission on 3rd December, he impressed upon them to carry out their duties judiciously and justly to satisfy everybody, including observers. In this regard President Moi told the commission to honour and take full responsibility for these irregularities, which are disenfranchising many people.

President Moi said he was also very unhappy about the mix-up in the distribution of ballot papers, where for example, those of Kasipul Kabondo [western Kenya] were found in Kitui [central Kenya]. He said the situation was not made any better by the missing covers of many ballot boxes.

President Moi expressed anger at the Electoral Commission's apathy and refusal to take action against opposition activists and candidates who had killed and maimed many KANU aspirants. He noted that KANU had already lost the lives of two young people in Kisumu and Siaya, while two KANU women supporters had been seriously injured.

Source: KBC radio, Nairobi, in English 1300 gmt 30 Dec 97

Opposition candidate says he was abducted

Text of report by Kenyan KTN TV on 30th December

The National Development Party of Kenya parliamentary candidate in Westlands [Nairobi], Amin Alibhai, claimed he was abducted by unknown people early yesterday morning. Alibhai said he barely made it to vote as he was released in the dying hours of the voting exercise.

[Alibhai] I was picked up at around 0730 [local time] on Masari Road, Parklands. I was just slowed down on the bumps, somebody put a gun on my window. Somebody holding to the other side of the other door.

Two people (?holding) behind them hauled me out. One of the guys started driving the car. They blindfolded me. They took me somewhere, I am not very sure where it was. I was forced to drink some water and I was dizzy. The next thing I realize, I woke up at around 1900. It was at somewhere near Karuri Post Office. I was in my car. I just went straight home.

I thought the election was over. When I got there, I was told they had been looking for me all day and I was told the exercise was still going on. So, [words indistinct] straight, 1930 I went, or 2000 or whenever, I just went and cast my vote.

Source: KTN TV, Nairobi, in English 1000 gmt 30 Dec 97

Presidential candidate Maathai says she's still in the race

Text of report by Kenyan KTN TV on 30th December

Liberal Party of Kenya presidential candidate Wangari Maathai said today that she is still in the presidential race.

She dismissed press reports that she had bowed out of the race in favour of the Democratic Party presidential candidate, Mwai Kibaki.

Maathai said the reports had ruined her chances of winning, as the report of her last-minute withdrawal has thrown her supporters into confusion.

She said that the report had been issued without her knowledge and termed the report [as] some move by her enemies to malign her. She said she would seek redress due to the seriousness of the matter which had shattered her chances.

[Maathai - recording] I have never bowed out of a race all my life. I face challenges with courage and determination and I expect victory or defeat; that is the nature of any race.

Source: KTN TV, Nairobi, in English 0920 gmt 30 Dec 97

Opposition candidates protest against polls irregularities

Text of report by Kenyan KTN TV on 30th December

Two opposition parties have met with the Electoral Commission of Kenya officials to protest over the chaos that characterized yesterday's voting exercise.

Presidential candidate Raila Odinga of NDP [National Development Party] and the DP [Democratic Party] presidential campaign coordinator, George Muhoho, told the press after last night's meeting that their acceptance of election results would depend on how the remaining part is conducted.

Later, Mwai Kibaki, the DP presidential candidate joined and went into a separate meeting with the commission chairman, Samuel Kivuitu.

[Raila Odinga - recording] We have registered our protests, our strongest protests, over this and we have said that we are going to review the situation and our complete participation in these elections are going to depend on how the remaining part of this exercise is going to be conducted.

[Muhoho - recording] We have protested in the strongest terms possible about not involving the political parties in such a major decision. We are the people who are asking the mandate from the public, and [on] matters of this magnitude, we still insist that, we should have been consulted, because, as a matter of fact, the point eventually we made to them made a lot of sense.

[Prof Maloiy contesting the Kajiado North parliamentary seat against Prof George Saitoti - recording] In some places the people, the voters, refused to vote because there were presidential ballot papers but no civic papers.

[Mwai Kibaki - recording] When you can deliver the right number of papers for local government [civic ballot papers] but no papers for presidential vote , obviously somebody is in the racket.

Source: KTN TV, Nairobi, in English 0805 gmt 30 Dec 97

Ruling party lodges protest against Electoral Commission staff

Text of report by Kenyan KTN TV on 30th December

A ballot box under escort

Vote-counting began in several parts of the country today morning despite the numerous hitches experienced in the poll in the first day of the general elections.

Reports, however, indicate that ballot boxes have not reached several polling stations, where voting did not take place yesterday.

In Nairobi there are long queues of people waiting to vote. At least 40 constituencies are reported to have been affected by yesterday's polling hitches.

Meanwhile, Prof Edward Karanja, a Kenyan US-based academician has appealed to the Electoral Commission to withhold any announcement of the results while some polling stations are still involved in the voting.

He told KTN [Kenya Television Network] that any piecemeal results would jeopardize voting.

Meanwhile, KANU [Kenya African National Union, ruling party] has written to the Electoral Commission chairman, Samuel Kivuitu, protesting the manner, mode and conduct of this year's general elections.

In a protest letter, KANU executive officer Geoffrey Kathurima accused the Electoral Commission staff of having acted in total disregard of their responsibilities as managers of the electoral process. Kathurima wondered why there was a problem of ballot papers only in KANU strongholds.

Source: KTN TV, Nairobi, in English 0805 gmt 30 Dec 97

Politicians worried by lack of ballot papers in ruling party strongholds

Text of report by Kenyan radio on 30th December

Several KANU [ruling party] senior politicians have expressed concern over the serious shortage of presidential ballot papers, especially in traditionally KANU strongholds.

In their statement, Hon Peter Lengees, Moody Awori, Kipkalia Kones, Willium Ole Ntimama and Mr Noor Ogle questioned why only KANU strongholds had been denied presidential ballot papers.

They noted with dismay that there were no such shortages in Central Province and other opposition zones. Bitter adherents also wondered why 15m ballot papers had been ordered while there were slightly over 9m registered voters. They noted that this move was suspicious.

Source: KBC radio, Nairobi, in English 0400 gmt 30 Dec 97

Election observer cites polling irregularities

Excerpts from report by Kenyan KTN TV on 29th December

In other polling stations of Nairobi, ballot papers and boxes arrived after seven [a.m. local time]...

KTN's Farida Karonei visited several polling stations in the city and brings you this report.

[Karonei] ...In Starehe, polling went on smoothly although election observers complained of serious irregularities. Some ballot papers were missing, names missing from [the] register of voters, some people allowed to vote without proper identification among other irregularities.

[Dr Gilbert Manyasi, election observer] Because of the hurry and tension, a lot of ballots were cast without having been stamped. Later on at the counting, they will be deferred. They will not be counted. And then we had a lot of other voters, to be exact, by midday we had 12 voters who had already voted without being on the register.

There was a hurried check and later on it was found out that they were not the ones supposed to vote. And around 10.00 a.m. it came to our knowledge that there are two presidential ballot books, two parliamentary ballot books and two civic ballot books which are not within the stationery available at the polling station. We traced them in a certain room. The reasons for them having been separated has not been made known to us...

Source: KTN TV, Nairobi, in English 1800 gmt 29 Dec 97

BBC Monitoring (http://www.monitor.bbc.co.uk), based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.
 

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